Project Items (Visual Studio SDK)

Custom tools let you associate a tool with an item in a project and run that tool whenever the file is saved. Certain custom tools, sometimes referred to as single-file generators, are frequently used to implement translators that generate code from data and vice versa. For example, single-file generators create Visual C#, Visual Basic, and Visual J# source code out of the .settings and .resx files. The generated source code provides strongly-typed access to the data in the .settings and .resx files. The Visual C#, Visual Basic, and Visual J# project types support custom tools; Visual C++ project types do not. Your own project types can also support custom tools.

Custom tools are registered components that implement the IVsSingleFileGenerator interface.

Custom tools are associated with a ProjectItem interface object, and are like designers and editors. A custom tool takes the file represented by a ProjectItem as input and writes a new file whose file name is provided by the DefaultExtension method.

In This Section

• Implementing Single-File Generators
  Describes how to use the IVsSingleFileGenerator interface to implement a custom tool.

• Determining the Default Namespace
  Describes how to determine the correct namespace based on the language being used.

• Registering Single File Generators
  Provides descriptions for all the registry entries for a custom tool.

• Exposing Types to Visual Designers
  Explains how project systems provide support for visual designers to access generated classes and types through temporary portable executable (PE) files.

• How to: Persist the Property of a Project Item
  Shows how to persist a project item property, such as the author of a source file, in the project file.

Reference

• IVsSingleFileGenerator
  Provides details about the IVsSingleFileGenerator, which transforms a single input file into a single output file that can be compiled or added to a project.

• ProjectItem
  Explains the ProjectItem interface, which represents an item in a project.

• DefaultExtension
  Provides details about the DefaultExtension method, which retrieves the file name extension that is given to the output file name.

Related Sections

• Projects and Solutions
  Describes how to use Visual Studio projects and solutions to organize code files and resource files, and how to implement source control.